Although the Church was commissioned to take the Gospel to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth, Philip was the first to do this. We often call him Philip the Evangelist. We could call him Philip the Obedient; we could call him Philip- the pioneer, Philip the fearless, Philip the Traveller. When persecution happened and loads of Christians left Jerusalem, Philip ended up in Samaria. And he said "Samaria's fair game..." He was breaking new ground, sharing the good news with Samaritans. He was right in the middle of the flow of the Holy Spirit. He was seeing powerful signs, wonders, deliverance, and people being saved. ("Great joy in the city" is code for the saving effect of the Kingdom.) Philip was in the middle of a really exciting time of revival. Then the Lord's angel said, "Leave town, Philip". And I can imagine Philip saying, "Lord, look at what is happening here. Loads of people are being converted. The Church is growing. You've been at work; the Apostles are happy. I'm right at the middle of things, using my gifts and you want me to walk away from all that?
Obedience to the Holy Spirit.
It gets worse... " Go out into the desert..." And Philip could well be saying, "But Lord, I'm an evangelist. I tell people the good news. How can I tell people the Good News if there are no people to tell?" But Philip went out into the desert. He knew the revival was God, not him; he knew that he needed to remain in the place where the Lord had called him to be. And right now, that was in the desert. So he goes. And the Spirit goes, to lead him in the next adventure in mission.
Discovering the Mission.
In the desert, at this moment in time, not weeks later...in God's perfect time, as Philip walked down that deserted road, wondering, "What does God have for me to do out here? Did I make a mistake" he hears the jingling of harness, the sound of hooves, and a chariot overtook him...("All right for some...") Then the Holy Spirit spoke: Get after it and hitch a lift". (If you're going to hitch try to get picked up in a Mercedes or a Rolls Royce) - and the passenger was a rich African guy... (it so happens he was Chancellor of the Exchequer to Queen Candace of Ethiopia!) It doesn't get better. For Philip the pioneer, he's hitching a lift to the ends of the earth! Wonderful. From that point on, note, Philip didn't need any prompting from God. He knew what to do. He discovered the Ethiopian was reading the Bible, reading Isaiah 53. The guy was curious, exploring spiritual truths and realities. All he needed was for someone to explain to him, as we were learning this morning, that the "Lamb" of Isaiah 53 is Jesus. This is the mission. This is the next stage. And Philip is ready to journey with him, and on that journey tell him the Good News. The Good news, the Kingdom of God, the Lamb slain - for not just Samaria, but the ends of the earth. A complete outsider. A gentile; an African. A guy with a black skin. You heard it here first, people, from Philip. Where are your surprising outsiders, who are puzzling over spiritual truth, interacting with holy stuff? How are you going to get alongside? How are you going to announce the good news about Jesus? Do you know what the good news is? What will be the possibilities for the mission going to exciting new places, through your surprising outsider?
Ready to respond
The African guy was not just "Curious". He was receptive. He was ready to make a personal commitment to Jesus. He knew enough about the Christian Faith to know that the way to sign up was to be baptised. To jump in that water. And he was ready to jump. Isn't that an exciting place to be in mission? Working with receptive people, who are ready to jump in the water.
Becoming a Christian is personal but not private. When the African guy was baptised, he was saying to everyone in his retinue, his bodyguard, his personal servants, "I am now trusting Jesus." It was no secret. And when he was baptised, he was saying, "I am part of the community of faith, the Church.
When will we as Baptists begin to take baptism seriously? When will we allow it to be what the New testament wants it to be, which is the appeal to God for a clean conscience, the clear, public statement at the beginning of a person's Christian life, that says "I am trusting Jesus to wash my sins away and I am one of his people, part of the Church.
What is to hinder me from being baptised? Well, if you trust in Jesus, nothing. Not being only twelve; not being mentally handicapped; not the need for a course of study first. No wonder the guy was rejoicing when he went on his way. That word "Joy " is code for the work of the Holy Spirit in passages like these. He went on his way, empowered by the Holy Spirit - to the ends of the earth, to serve Jesus in his home continent of Africa.
Mission to the margins
So Philip also travelled: the Spirit just transported him to Ashdod or Azotus, a coastal city. And he worked his way up the coast toward Caesarea, on the margins, all the while proclaiming the Gospel. Maybe not always seeing spectacular results. But it's interesting that in Peter took to travelling with the Gospel. He found saints in Lydda (Acts 9. 32),. and Joppa (Acts 9. 38).
We read about Philip's revival and we kind of want to say, "That would be nice! We'd like some of that, please Lord! Why doesn't that happen in Scotland?" I don't want to suggest that there's some quick fix, or some formula that will bring people into the Kingdom in their thousands. We all have family members whom we long to see coming to trust in Jesus. It was still hard work for Philip, and it will be hard work for us. But I believe that s we are prepared to break new ground, we will discover people who are curious. And as we journey with them, we will find that some of them are ready to respond to Jesus. And as we are ready to welcome and receive them, baptising them and teaching them, they go on their way rejoicing; and we go on our way, too, delighting in being part of God's mission in the margins.
© Gilmour Lilly August 2011
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